Big Ten directors of athletics, senior woman administrators and faculty representatives met Oct. 6 and 7 at the conference headquarters in Rosemont, Ill., and agreed to ensure that any student-athlete recruited to a Big Ten institution through the offer of an athletic scholarship will be guaranteed opportunities to pursue a degree.

For the second consecutive year, Big Ten Conference officials have approved the equal distribution of what would have been Penn State’s share of football bowl game revenues to 2013-14 Big Ten member universities. Penn State’s portion of the funds will go to two local child-focused organizations again this year to further promote their missions.

Earlier this summer, all Big Ten universities were given a portion of what would have been Penn State's football bowl revenues from the previous season, to distribute to child-focused causes close to their hearts. Big Ten officials provided $188,344 to each university in the conference to donate to a local organization of their choice, whose primary focus is on protecting children and advocating on behalf of children.

The Big Ten Conference office announced football division alignments set to begin in 2014 and nine-game conference schedules set to start in 2016. The changes were unanimously recommended by conference directors of athletics and supported by the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors.

New Big Ten conference rivals united on campus in January not to go head-to-head at Beaver Stadium, but for another reason -- food.

Six chefs and one sustainability representative from the University of Maryland visited Penn State's University Park and Altoona campuses Jan. 15 and 16. As part of the Chef Exchange program, Maryland dining employees toured Penn State facilities, worked alongside chefs and learned about operations. They also swapped information about menus, service standards and other issues.

The Chef Exchange program is an informal networking and professional development opportunity for Penn State and Maryland, said Penn State Executive Chef Mark Kowalski. It is the first such relationship between another university and Penn State Food Services. Penn State dining employees, including Kowalski, toured Maryland's facilities in College Park last December.

Penn State coach Bill O'Brien has been selected 2012 Big Ten Coach of the Year by the coaches and media, and defensive end Deion Barnes from Philadelphia has been named the conference's Thompson-Randel El Freshman of the Year. O'Brien and Barnes join the seven Nittany Lions who were named All-Big Ten on Monday (Nov. 26), six of whom were first-team honorees. On the Watch List for the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year, O'Brien led the Nittany Lions to victories in eight of their final 10 games, earning an 8-4 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the Big Ten. Barnes, a redshirt freshman, joins tailback Curtis Enis (1995) as Nittany Lions to win the Thompson-Randel El Freshman of the Year, first awarded in 1986 and named for Darrell Thompson (Minnesota) and Antwaan Randel El (Indiana).

The Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors (COP/C) announced unanimous approval Tuesday (Nov. 20) for Rutgers University to join the Big Ten Conference, one day after approving the inclusion of the University of Maryland. Rutgers will enter Big Ten competition in all sports at a date to be determined; Maryland will begin competition during the 2014-15 academic year. Rutgers University will also be joining the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a consortium of world-class research institutions dedicated to advancing their academic missions.

The Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors (COP/C) announced unanimous approval Monday (Nov. 19) for the University of Maryland to join the Big Ten Conference effective July 1, 2014, with competition to begin in all sports for the 2014-15 academic year. The University of Maryland also looks forward to joining the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a consortium of world-class research institutions dedicated to advancing their academic missions.

"Today is a watershed moment for the University of Maryland," said University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh. "Membership in the Big Ten Conference is in the strategic interest of the University of Maryland."

A new episode of the new original series, "Impact the World," will air at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, on the Big Ten Network. Hosted by Dennis Haysbert, the weekly program showcases some of the incredible Big Ten breakthroughs that are changing lives in the United States and around the world. The fourth of the eight-episode series will highlight three high-profile medical advances from Big Ten universities.

Penn State alumni, students and fans in Texas for Monday's TicketCity Bowl, featuring the Nittany Lions and the No. 19 Houston Cougars, can get revved up at the Penn State bowl Pep Rally on Sunday, Jan. 1. Penn State's TicketCity Bowl pep rally will begin at approximately 4:15 p.m. CT Sunday at Gate A of the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium. The rally will feature Interim Head Coach Tom Bradley and team captains Drew Astorino, Quinn Barham, Derek Moye and Devon Still. The Penn State Blue Band, cheerleaders and the Nittany Lion also will participate. The rally is free and will be preceded by Houston's rally at 3:30 p.m. at the Cotton Bowl.

With a history of Rose Bowl competition dating back more than a century, the Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 Conference announced today (Dec. 28) a collaborative effort to enhance long-term scheduling commitments between the two conferences across all sports among the 24 institutions. The new Big Ten-Pac-12 collaboration will feature more games between the two conferences in an effort to enhance the experiences for all student-athletes, fans and alumni while broadening the national scope of both conferences. Details of the new effort will continue to unfold as administrators and conference staff members meet in the coming year.

Approximately 100 elementary school students from Louis Armstrong Public School in Chicago helped launch the Big Ten's "Honoring Legends. Building Leaders. Mobile Tour" at the Big Ten office in Park Ridge, Ill., on Wednesday. Part of the Big Ten's SCORE program, the students were the first to participate in the mobile tour's activities and to have their pictures taken with the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy, which made its first public appearance Wednesday morning.